Korea’s second cardinal, Cheong Jin-suk, Monday suggested that Pope Benedict XVI would not visit North Korea as long as North Korea disallow dispatch of Catholic priests to the Communist nation.

A high-ranking government official who ran for re-election in northern Uganda ordered a Catholic-owned radio station to stop broadcasting election coverage during national elections on February 23, the Catholic News Service has reported.

You can click here to read the complete text

Bishop Robert F. Vasa of the Catholic diocese of Baker, Oregon, wrote in the Catholic Sentinel newspaper, “There is a point at which passive ‘tolerance’ allows misleading teachings to be spread and propagated, thus confusing or even misleading the faithful about the truths of the Church…There is a very strong word, which still exists in our Church, which most of us are too ‘gentle’ to use. The word is ‘heresy.’�

You can click here to read the complete text

Cardinal Zen told the press Feb. 23, the day after the pope named him one of 15 new cardinals, that he anticipated Beijing would "appreciate the goodwill of the holy father."

...Also in Beijing, Anthony Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, told UCA News Feb. 23 that he thinks Bishop Zen's appointment as a cardinal shows the pope's concern for China.

However, he said the China Church hopes Cardinal-elect Zen will "render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," as Jesus says in the gospel of St. Matthew, since this would enhance the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and help advance China-Vatican relations. He added that how much the cardinal-elect would be able to help toward the normalization of diplomatic ties "depends on how he acts in the future."

You can click here to read the complete text

Elias Shakur was formally elevated to a bishopric of the local Greek Catholic church yesterday, thereby becoming the first Israeli citizen ever to hold this post.

Shakur, 67, is an Arab Israeli born in the Galilee village of Biram.

Until now, the local Greek Catholic bishops have generally been citizens of Lebanon, Syria or Egypt. In 1999, Boutrous Mualem, who was also born in the Galilee, became a bishop, but Mualem spent most of life in Lebanon and South America. Shakur, in contrast, has lived most of his life here.

You can click here to read the complete text

Here is the Pope's a Lenten meditation for us:

Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the "valley of darkness" of which the Psalmist speaks (Ps 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail. In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a "divine limit imposed upon evil", namely, mercy.

...The Church knows that if we are to promote development in its fulness, our own “gaze� upon mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate the response to people’s material and social needs from the fulfilment of the profound desires of their hearts.

After backing calls by Muslims for respect for their religion in the Mohammad cartoons row,the Vatican is now urging Islamic countries to reciprocate by showing more tolerance toward their Christian minorities...

..."If we tell our people they have no right to offend, we have to tell the others they have no right to destroy us," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State (prime minister), told journalists in Rome.

There has been a meeting with top Roman Curia officials that focused on a proposal to reconcile with followers of the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

A Vatican source said the pope and other department heads listened as Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos outlined a possible solution to the 18-year-long impasse with the Society of St. Pius X, a self-styled traditionalist order founded by Archbishop Lefebvre. Its members reject modern liturgical practices and several teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

...the article quotes Cardinal Arinze later with a self-evident yet obligatory statement on the matter:

"(The pope) cannot disown Vatican II in order to make the Lefebvrites happy," Cardinal Arinze said.

You can click here to read the complete text.

This is the conclusion of our previous interview with Renee Bondi.

At age 29, Renee Bondi suffered a bizarre accident that shattered her spine and left her quadriplegic. She was engaged to be married and was a succesful musician at the time. She lost not only all use of her hands and legs, but also her singing voice.

Renee miraculously recovered her singing voice and today she is one of the top-selling independent Contemporary Christian Artists selling over 150,000 copies of songs as well as being played on radio stations and networks across the country.

She discusses the blessings that come with suffering (you find out who you are in Christ); how to come to thanksgiving for calamity; how she learned to look at her wheelchair as a companion and ally; how all suffering is relative; how we aquire our holiness; how is she trying to teach her son how to listen for God's voice; how God wants her to know him as a Father; that following the simple and profound guidelines from scripture would protect our society; etc...

Visit www.reneebondi.com for her concert and speaking schedule, to order any of her Cd's, and to learn more about her ministry. (Renee's home page plays music when you visit, so be ready.)

The song included in this podcast is "Be Still and Hear My Voice", the ninth song on Renee's album, Let it Rain

At last, some articles about Opus Dei that have nothing to do with Da Vinci Code

'Your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. There you have your daily encounter with Christ. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind. Far away on the horizon heaven seems to meet the earth. Do not forget that where heaven and earth really meet is in the heart of a child of God'

Opus Dei aims at fostering individual holiness in the world.

You can click here to read the complete text.

A new Opus Dei Projects to Benefit Four Nations

You can click here to read the complete text.

As a follow-up to an earlier post about the Bible and Bankruptcy, here is a podcast from the same author on the same subject:

(Hint, its all about the preservation of the family unit.)

You can click here to go to the Debt Podcast "Is bankruptcy immoral?" podcast.

You can click here to go the home page of the Debt Podcast.

The Holy See is deeply concerned about the appointment of new bishops in China in the coming years because this will determine the course of China's Catholic Church for decades, according to a senior Vatican official.

You can click here to read the complete text.

Everybody pretty much knows about St. Valentine, but how many people are aware that today is also the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius?

...These two Greek brothers ultimately became missionaries, teachers and patrons of the Slavic peoples.

Click here , here or here to read about Saint Valentine.

So I guess we have to wait until the Olympics come to my neighborhood before our churches open their doors for adoration...

An initiative of the Archdiocese of Turin, called "Heart to Heart," has opened three churches in the city for daily Eucharistic adoration.

This seems like a good topic for a future podcast. We will try to line something up for the end of March.

Portrayed in the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code as a secretive cult willing to murder to defend a fictional 2000-year-old Catholic cover-up, Opus Dei is promoting its softer side before the movie of the book arrives in May.

"It's very sad that Opus Dei and the Catholic Church were portrayed unfairly in the novel," said Opus Dei spokesman Brian Finnerty. "What we're trying to do is take advantage of the interest to explain what the real Opus Dei is all about."

A crowd of Muslim women and a few men attacked a Catholic church in Pakistan's Punjab province recently, injuring two Christian women - one 70 years old - and vandalizing the building.

At least three men and 20 women attacked the Kawanlit village chapel on February 3, leaving 70-year-old Veero Mehnga Masih with broken legs and also injuring Saleema Mazir Masih, 50. The mob broke windows, smashed the altar and burned Bibles.

This from Barbara Nicolosi's blog, The Church of the Masses:

Further, we absolutely do not need to see the film to talk about Jesus. No more than we need to see porn to talk about human sexuality. Or to read Mein Kempf to decide whether we can have an opinion about gassing Jews. Besides, it would be dignifying a really inane story. Da Vinci Code is so ridiculous in its premises, that it is giving it a false gravity to even take it seriously enough so as to argue about it. ["And tomorrow, the Christians will be offering a hermenutic of moral praxis as can be gleaned from next week's episode of WWF Smackdown. Ahem."] Yeah, let's all find a starting point for dialogue in the notion that a secret coterie of albino monks has been mythmaking about Jesus' Divinity for 2,000 years. No, you go first.

At age 29, Renee Bondi was engaged to be married and had a beautiful singing voice, a thriving career as a music teacher, and a loving family. But then one night a bizarre accident shattered her spine and left her quadriplegic. She lost not only all use of her hands and legs, but also her singing voice -- she could barely speak above a whisper. Unwilling to accept that her life was over, she searched her heart and sought God for direction.

Renee miraculously recovered her singing voice and today she is one of the top-selling independent Contemporary Christian Artists selling over 150,000 copies of songs as well as being played on radio stations and networks across the country.

She discusses her struggles in the days immediately following her accident; her husband and child; the spiritual exercises that help her cope with daily frustrations; etc... more to come in part 2.

Visit www.reneebondi.com for her concert and speaking schedule, to order any of her Cd's, and to learn more about her ministry.

The song included in this podcast is "Surrender", the third song on Renee's album, Surrender to Your Love

Part 2 will be posted on 2/20/06.

Here's an article at Forbes.com (from the AP) about the dialogue at Catholic Universities surrounding the production of the "Vagina Monologues":

It's a discussion more Catholic universities are having as "The Vagina Monologues" becomes a kind of unsolvable riddle for the schools. Allow the performance and they are criticized for going against church teachings. Ban the play and they're accused of stifling academic freedom.

This from Rev. Brian Shanley, Providence College's president:

"There's really not much you can work with in the play from a Catholic point of view," he said. "All the sex in the play is immoral. It's same-sex, it's autoerotic and extramarital. So it's not like it's a work of art that has the voice of the Catholic woman and her experience in sexuality."

Regina Bannan, an assistant professor of women studies at Temple University who has researched Catholic women, said the play helps spark important dialogue about women's sexuality.

"It takes a woman from an object position to a subject position, where the woman is actually expressing her own ideas about sexual experiences," she said.

"If the church hasn't learned anything the last three years about stifling discussion about sexuality, that's a shame," she added, referring to the clerical sex abuse crisis.

Here's a bit of a follow-up on an earliar post:

"We The Muslim Students Association of Australia, The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students and The Australian Catholic Students Association note the particular affect the availability of this drug will have on tertiary students. Many students have financial difficulties and other particular challenges when faced with pregnancy: taking a pill that may seriously damage the health of the mother is not a message that should be sent out to students, this is not a solution," the Statement said.

Click Here to see full text of article

In the forum, "The Catholic Church Response to HIV and AIDS" at the Manila Hotel yesterday, Fr. Robert Vitillo, special advisor on HIV and AIDS to Caritas Internationalis based in Geneva, Switzerland, said a number of studies made in various countries proved the preventive measures endorsed by the Catholic Church such as abstinence from sex and marital fidelity were very effective in curbing AIDS compared to other measures.

The teachings by the Catholic Church on marriage and family values are among the best ways to prevent the spread of the killer disease, he said.

The Compendium consists of 598 questions and answers, echoing to some degree the format of the very popular �Baltimore Catechism� which was a standard text in many Catholic parishes and schools from 1885 to the 1960s.

Click Here to see full text of article

Here is an interesting post about the biblical perspective on bankruptcy (from the New York Bankruptcy and Consumer Law Blog).

The Old Testament model can therefore be legitimately applied to modern day bankruptcy laws. The principle is that, while taken seriously, debt can be canceled to achieve some higher purpose�such as the preservation of the family unit.

The Bible makes it clear that people are generally expected to pay their debts. Leviticus 25:39. No one will�or should�advance any argument against this general proposition.

Within the areas of economic justice and stability, the Old Testament is replete with examples of compassionate treatment of the poor, and with preservation of the family unit. These goals were superior to the material concerns of repayment of debt.

Thanks to Jay over at the Debt Podcast for recommending this article.

In the Jan. 17, 2006, campaign letter for the majority leader position, Boehner referred to himself as "a lifelong Roman Catholic" and "a Catholic, pro-life legislator" who has "always believed that life begins at conception."

"This is not a political position I’ve adopted for the sake of expedience or convenience; it is a part of who I am and have always been, since long before the thought of running for office had ever entered my mind. It is a belief I feel passionately from deep within my soul."

Click here for the full text of the article

Our proposed agenda for our upcoming programs:

• 2/10/06 - Part (1) of (2) of Renee Bondi on faith, fortitude and suffering. Renee was paralyzed in an accident 18 years ago, yet she is popular singer, and fulfilled wife and mother. She shares with us her insight and advice on how to live in frustrating circumstances with Faith, Hope and Love.

• 2/10/06 - Part (2) of (2) of Renee Bondi on faith, fortitude and suffering.

• 2/28/06 - Fr. Jim Costigan on Eucharistic Adoration and its spiritual benefits. He shares with us the proper place and manner of Eucharistic Adoration.

• 03/10/06 - Dr Paddy Baggot, OB/GYN on Human Reproductive issues in light of Catholic theology. Dr. Baggot is a practicing OB/GYN who ensures that all of his medical advice conforms to Catholic teaching on "Sanctity of Life" issues, including abortion, 'in vitro' fertilization, NaProTechnology, Natural Family Planning, etc...

More on the Priest shot in Turkey from the "Hindu News":

Pope Benedict XVI's envoy in Ankara, Monsignor Antonio Lucibello, said he had spoken with a witness - an Italian woman who worked with the priest - who said Santoro had been killed while he was ``kneeling in the first row of the church'' and praying.

Click here for the full text of the article

"We condemn with hatred the fact that the murder was committed in a house of worship against a man of religion," said Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, the government spokesman. "It is not possible for our government or for the Turkish people to approve of any form of violence."

Click Here to see full text of article

"We condemn with hatred the fact that the murder was committed in a house of worship against a man of religion," said Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, the government spokesman. "It is not possible for our government or for the Turkish people to approve of any form of violence."

Click Here to see full text of article

From the New York Times:

...But a reorganization of the doctrinal teaching system within the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, which was announced last week, has raised concerns among some Roman Catholics. They believe it augurs a shift to pre-Vatican II conservatism, a diminished role for women in the church and a new authoritarian stamp on the way 1.4 million church members on Long Island learn what it means to be Catholic and interact with their church.

Click her for the full text

Jimmy Akin will be posting a series on Genesis 1.

As a fan from birth, I am gratified by this profile of the Steelers owner:

Rooney says his lifestyle reflects the way he was brought up, and the way millions have grown up in Pittsburgh: Jesus first, football second.

"You're talking to me because my team's in the Super Bowl," Rooney said. "But I'm telling you that faith and religion are important to everyone, no matter what they're doing, whether they know that or not. We must be in relationship with the Lord at all times to get the most out of life."

Click here for the full text of article

Thanks to Open Book for the link.

I don't know what "LGBT Catholics" are but I can guess.

“I hope it’s not my last preaching,� he laughs. “It’s going to take a certain tact not to say something that would be totally contrary to the Catholic teachings, but challenging still.�

Click here for complete text

This from the "Courier-Mail" (Australia):

MORE than 200 Catholic doctors, all members of the Guild of St Luke, are set to resign from the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners over RU-486.....

....Not only does RU-486 always result in the death of an innocent human being, complications including maternal death make it totally unacceptable," Dr Kent said.

Click here for the full text.

Here is some commentary on the that has been made on (2) of the articles that I posted here previously:

As a theory, intelligent design probably doesn't deserve all the criticism that it draws, but the decision to prevent it from being taught in public science classrooms is a good one.

In fact, the only reason that this issue has survived in the public so long is that it has been hijacked by people on both sides with an agenda to push.

..............and...................

My concern here, however, is that some secular reactions to this controversy suggest that Darwinism is now a sacred cow — no criticism is allowed and people who have the temerity even to raise questions deserve to be slapped down by the coercive power of the state.

Strange things have been said in the course of this argument. Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson told us that demonstrating the existence of God is a "faithless pursuit." Imagine that! St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century famously proposed five rational proofs for the existence of God. One may or may not find them persuasive, but no one has ever seriously suggested that St. Thomas was not a man of faith.

Here are some of the earlier posts on the same subject: "Intelligent design" not science: Vatican paper and Science Does Not Need God. Or Does It? A Catholic Scientist Looks at Evolution

An ecouraging story about a young female Olympic skier who is a devout Catholic. She has a particular devotion to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Rebecca Dussault, was born in Denver and is now a resident of Gunnison, Colorado in the Diocese of Pueblo. She is Eight Time U.S. National Cross Country Ski Champion and Top Ranked U.S. Women�s Nordic Skier. She will be representing our Nation at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin (a.k.a. Torino), Italy. She has named Pier Giorgio her �patron on the Journey to the Olympics.� When she competes she will have the name of our friend written on her skis, along with the Sign of the Cross with which she always marks them.

Click here to read the complete text of the article

Thanks to the Curt Jester for this link.

A majority of women in Britain want the abortion laws to be tightened to make it harder, or impossible, for them to terminate a pregnancy.

Click here to read the complete text of the UK Guardian Article

Thanks to Open Book for this link.

Click here to read the complete post which contains many, many links

Thanks to Open Book for this link.

I ran accross this aricle last week, but the more I think about the more I wanted to post it:

The Catholic church will Sunday appoint two married laymen as permanent deacons - officials who perform rituals like baptism and marriage, hitherto a bastion of priests and bishops.

For the first time in the history of the church in India, laymen will be allowed to perform the functions of a full-fledged priest, except for conducting mass and hearing confessions.

"This step is a move to restore the role of the laity in the life and ministry of the Church," said Anthony Charanghat, spokesperson for the Cardinal Ivan Dias, archbishop of Mumbai.

Click here to read entire text

By Father George V. Coyne, SJ
1/30/2006

The following is the text of the talk to be delivered by Vatican Observatory Director Jesuit Father George V. Coyne, "Science Does Not Need God, or Does It? A Catholic Scientist Looks at Evolution" at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla., Jan. 31:

Abstract:

I would essentially like to share with you two convictions in this presentation: (1) that the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, while evoking a God of power and might, a designer God, actually belittles God, makes her/him too small and paltry; (2) that our scientific understanding of the universe, untainted by religious considerations, provides for those who believe in God a marvelous opportunity to reflect upon their beliefs. Please note carefully that I distinguish, and will continue to do so in this presentation, that science and religion are totally separate human pursuits. Science is completely neutral with respect to theistic or atheistic implications which may be drawn from scientific results.

Click here to read the complete text

By Father George V. Coyne, SJ
1/30/2006

The following is the text of the talk to be delivered by Vatican Observatory Director Jesuit Father George V. Coyne, "Science Does Not Need God, or Does It? A Catholic Scientist Looks at Evolution" at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla., Jan. 31:

Abstract:

I would essentially like to share with you two convictions in this presentation: (1) that the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, while evoking a God of power and might, a designer God, actually belittles God, makes her/him too small and paltry; (2) that our scientific understanding of the universe, untainted by religious considerations, provides for those who believe in God a marvelous opportunity to reflect upon their beliefs. Please note carefully that I distinguish, and will continue to do so in this presentation, that science and religion are totally separate human pursuits. Science is completely neutral with respect to theistic or atheistic implications which may be drawn from scientific results.

Click here to read the complete text